This workbook is designed to help you understand and improve five core cognitive skills: verbal reasoning, numerical reasoning, logical reasoning, spatial awareness, and working memory. Each section explains what the skill is, why it matters, and gives you three practical exercises you can do regularly. Print this out, work through the exercises, and use the action plan at the end to track your progress.
Verbal Reasoning
Verbal reasoning is your ability to understand, analyse, and draw conclusions from written information. It's essential for reading comprehension, following instructions, and communicating clearly. Strong verbal reasoning helps in almost every subject and career.
Read one article, essay, or chapter per day from a source slightly above your current level. After reading, write a one-paragraph summary in your own words without looking back at the text. This builds comprehension, vocabulary, and the ability to identify key points.
Practise identifying relationships between words. For each pair below, describe how they're related (synonym, antonym, cause/effect, part/whole, etc.):
a) Generous / Selfish →
b) Chapter / Book →
c) Practice / Improvement →
Now create three of your own word pairs and label the relationships.
Find an opinion article or editorial. Read it carefully and answer: What is the author's main argument? What evidence do they use? Is the reasoning logical? Can you think of a counterargument? Write your analysis below.
Numerical Reasoning
Numerical reasoning is your ability to work with numbers, interpret data, and solve quantitative problems. It goes beyond basic arithmetic — it includes estimation, understanding percentages, interpreting graphs and tables, and applying maths to real-world situations.
Practise making quick estimates in everyday life. Before calculating or looking up the answer, estimate: How much will your shopping basket cost? How long will a journey take? What percentage of your day do you spend studying? Write three estimation challenges you tried this week and how close you were.
Spend 5 minutes each day practising mental arithmetic. Start with these and work up to harder problems:
a) 47 + 86 = b) 125 - 67 = c) 15% of 240 =
d) 8 × 17 = e) 360 ÷ 12 = f) 3/4 of 180 =
Find a graph, table, or chart in a newspaper, textbook, or online report. Study it for 2 minutes, then answer these questions without looking:
What is the main trend or finding?
What was the highest/lowest value?
What conclusion can you draw?
Logical Reasoning
Logical reasoning is your ability to think systematically, identify patterns, and draw valid conclusions from available information. It underpins problem-solving, decision-making, and critical thinking in every field.
Look for patterns in sequences. What comes next in each?
a) 2, 6, 18, 54, ___ (explain the rule: )
b) A, C, F, J, ___ (explain the rule: )
c) Create your own pattern sequence for a friend to solve:
Practise drawing conclusions from statements. Given the following, what can you conclude?
a) "All birds have feathers. A robin is a bird." → Conclusion:
b) "If it rains, the ground gets wet. The ground is wet." → Can you conclude it rained? Why or why not?
c) Write your own if-then problem:
When faced with a problem, practise ruling out what's definitely wrong before focusing on what's right. This works for multiple choice questions, troubleshooting, and everyday decisions. Think of a recent decision you made. Write down the options you considered and how you eliminated them:
Spatial Awareness
Spatial awareness is your ability to understand and mentally manipulate shapes, objects, and spaces. It helps with reading maps, following assembly instructions, understanding diagrams, and visualising how objects fit together.
Look at an object near you (a book, a mug, your phone). Close your eyes and try to visualise it from different angles — from above, from behind, from the side. Describe what you "see" for each angle. Practise this daily to strengthen your mental rotation ability.
Object chosen:
From above:
From behind:
Next time you go somewhere new, study a map before you leave. Try to navigate using the map from memory rather than GPS. Afterwards, draw a rough map of the route you took, including key landmarks and turns.
Activities that involve assembling, building, or arranging objects in space strengthen spatial skills. Try any of these regularly:
• Complete jigsaw puzzles (start with 100 pieces, work up)
• Build something from flat-pack instructions without watching a video
• Play spatial games (Tetris, tangrams, or block-building games)
• Sketch simple objects from different perspectives
Which activity will you try this week?
Working Memory
Working memory is your ability to hold and manipulate information in your mind over short periods. It's like a mental notepad — essential for following multi-step instructions, doing mental arithmetic, and keeping track of what you're reading or hearing.
Break long sequences into smaller groups to remember them more easily. Practise with these number strings — group them into chunks of 3 or 4, then try to recall them after 30 seconds:
a) 7 3 9 1 5 8 2 4 → Your chunks:
b) 4 6 2 8 1 5 7 3 9 → Your chunks:
Apply chunking to phone numbers, PINs, or any sequence you need to remember this week.
When trying to remember information, create a mental image. The more vivid and unusual the image, the better. Read the following shopping list once, then close your eyes and visualise each item in a specific place in your kitchen:
Milk, bread, apples, cheese, rice, tomatoes, yoghurt, eggs
How many could you recall? / 8
Describe the mental images you used:
Have someone read a string of digits to you at a pace of one per second. Try to repeat them back. Start with 4 digits and add one more each time you succeed. Record your best span:
4 digits: 5 digits: 6 digits: 7 digits: 8+:
Most adults can hold 5–9 digits. Practise daily to increase your span.
My Cognitive Skills Action Plan
Use this table to plan your improvement. Fill in your current assessment, set goals, and commit to a daily practice activity for each skill.
| Skill | Current Strength (Weak / OK / Strong) | My Goal | Daily Practice Activity |
|---|---|---|---|
| Verbal Reasoning | |||
| Numerical Reasoning | |||
| Logical Reasoning | |||
| Spatial Awareness | |||
| Working Memory |
Start date: Review date (4 weeks):
Notes & reflections: